voiceblog: Q

Q: What is your reaction to Obama's election? What's the key to solving our country's problems?

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Keith Bond: "I'm surprised, because I grew up in the South and living in Utah, and it didn't seem possible from my past history that the country would elect a black president. I'm sure that there's some way to solve all the problems, but I just don't know what it is."

Edward Saunders: "It's a good opportunity for change. The key would be doing what makes sense, as opposed to what we're used to doing."

Sophie Richardson: "On the first one it's hard not to say 'pretty damn good,' but I'm increasingly uneasy at the extent to which he's keeping on people from the Bush administration and wheeling out former Clintonites. I'm so pleased whenever there's a name I don't know.

The key? I think on the financial issues particularly, investing in education and environmental technology is clearly one way to go. Obviously the financial industry needs a tad more oversight. I'm a big fan of accountability."

Inga Jones-Holmes: "I'm thrilled about Obama being elected. Beyond the obvious reason for me, him being an African American, something most of us thought we'd never see in our lifetime, I feel we finally have someone in office that embodies all that America says that it is. He's forward thinking, very diverse culturally. He represents this melting pot of ideas and communities.

The key to solving our problems? Consistency, structure and open-mindedness."

Sean Sullivan: "Finally we've got a change, and the change is competence and cooperation in the federal government. Now THAT is a change. The key to solving problems is experience and cooperation. You can't do it alone, and you can't do it without the Republicans. It's no time to close off any ideas which are not your own. I have confidence that problems can be solved."

Luca Longo: "I'm happy about it. Obama's election is an historic event, the first black American president. And a lot of people in Italy feel the same. I think he should take people out of Iraq to make the war end, and he should fix the health insurance. In Italy health care is free, including for the homeless."

Q: What was your most memorable gift?

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:39:18 +0000

Berlin Borges (with Carlson): "I remember the first time I went to Disney World. My parents took my two sisters and me when I was seven years old. For me it was very impressive. We had seen Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and Pluto on TV but it was amazing to see them life size and touch them.
You say 'Wow.' It was like another planet. "

Gary Hess: "My grandson."

Nneka Ukegbu: "At home, in Nigeria, my sister, who was 14, gave me a little carving. It wasn't expensive or elaborate or a glamorous gift, but it had a few words that I remember. It said, 'I care about you.' She gave it to me when I was leaving Nigeria to come to the US, 10 years ago. It's just that she was so young and that she was giving me a parting gift. I've had it with me ever since."

Kirk Talbott: "Our daughters Ava and Elena the last few Christmases have made wonderful calendars with family photos and neat captions, beautifully done, rich memories -- a special gift, far better than any material gift anyone could give me."

Emily Van Loon: "I remember one year Tom gave me a bathroom scale for Christmas, and the whole neighborhood was so outraged that my friends have made themselves Tom's gift consultants. He can't buy any gifts without consulting them. Last year I got a big purse, which was ever so much better than a bathroom scale. It was the combination of the scale and a pocketknife for Valentine's Day, that convinced everybody that he'd gone over the edge."

Sue Katz Miller: "When I was a kid, the most exciting part of getting gifts was during Hanukkah when my mother hid the gifts and we had to find them. Sometimes it was just a roll of lifesavers, but it didn't matter because the joy was in the hunt."

What positive change do you see happening?

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:22:44 +0000

Bob Auerbach: "People are being more tolerant and more willing to get along with other people, less discrimination against blacks and other minorities. There's a little more interest in working people, and those are the ones who make the wheels go around. All the material goods we need are produced by working people. And it's nice to see better transportation and power -- electric, solar and wind."

Sarah Shoenfeld: "The election of Barack Obama is pretty much the most positive thing going on in the world."